Weft-feeding device for weaving looms



1,632,912 June 9 A. MULLOR ET AL WEFT FEEDING DEVICE FOR WEAVING LOOMSFiled March 23, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 1 632 912 June 1927' A. MULLOR ETAL WEET FEEDING DEVICE FOR WEAVING LOOMS Filed March 23. 1926 3Sheets-Sheet 3 34 6 .523 6 d 36 5 a; 5 a] Patented June 21, 1927.

UNITED STATES 1,632,912 PATENT OFFICE.-

nnvmo mmnoa, or scnAux, raanca, AND Lotus cannon, or cmm'r, BELGIUI.

, WEI'I-I'EEDING-DIVICE FOB WEAVING LOOKS.

Application fled larch 28, 1826, Serial No. 96,673, and in. France March88, 1925.,

This invention relates to weft feeding devices for looms and itha forits object to provide a device of this kind in which the weft iscontinuously fed in loop form without re uiring the shuttle to bestopped before it reac es the end of its travel in either direction.Anotherobject is to provide suitable means for tensioning the weftthreads passed through the shed and further ob ects will be apparentfrom the following descr1ption.

According to our invention we provide on the one hand a thread-carrieron the shuttle and on the other hand we arrange at the entrance of eachshuttle box a thread-presenting guide and an oscillating thread-grippinghook, arrangement being such that, on

each travel in the same direction of the shuttle, the thread fed fromthe supply selvedge, is caught by the thread-carrier on the shuttle,carrled thereby through the shed and delivered to the oscillating hookwhich lays it in loop ,form at the other selvedge.

In carrying out our invention We referably use a shuttle of ordinarydesign aving a portion cut away on its upper side and 'pr0 vided at eachend with a fork-shaped threadgripping member. These members 'have theirthread-gripping faces turned inwardly so that in either direction oftravel the thread will be seized by the rear fork. On each side of theloom is a supply bobbin from which the weft thread is led to theselvedge through the guide which holds it across the path. of the forkson the shuttle. The weft thread being seized by the rear forklis carriedthrou h the shed and, as it reaches the other en it is caught by theoscillating hook which is lowered between the tines of the fork,disengages the thread from the fork-and drops it in loop form at theselvedge as the lay is being actuated.

Means are preferably provided for tensioning the loop or weft. To thisend, as the shuttle enters the shuttle box it acts through suitableconnections on a brake at the feeding end of the weft thread which isthus tensioned at the very moment a tightening of the loop is required.The brake mayalso be controlled by cam action but in that case it hasbeen found that the thread is liable to break owing to undue stretching,whereas when the braking action is timed by the shuttle itself suchaccident is entirely precluded. v

bobbin through said guide to the nearest In order that our invention maybe better understood weshall describe an embodiment thereof withreference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fi 1 shows aside. elevation of 'a loom provided with our improved weftfeeding device.

Figs. 2 and 3 are respectively a plan and an elevation of the shuttle onan enlarged scale, F ig. 4 being an enlarged cross-section on line A-Bof Fig. 2.

Figs. 5 and 6 show separately one of the forks of the shuttle in frontand side elevation.

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic plan view of the shuttle race.

Figs. 8, 9 and 10 respectively show a plan view, a side elevation and anend view of the left hand shuttle box, the picker being removed in Fig.10.

Fig. 11 is a side view of the thread-presenting hook. v

Figs. 12, 13 and 14 illustrate the engagement of the thread by theoscillating hook.

Figs. 15, 16, 17 and 18 illustrate the positioning of the loop at theselvedge by means of the oscillating hook.

- Fig. 19 is a side View of the cam controlling the operation of thethread-gripping hook.

' Figs. 20 and 21 are a side view and a sectional view of the brake fortensioning the Weft thread.

Referring to Fig. 1, 20 denotes the loom frame, 21 the main shaft, 22the cam shaft,

23 the lay and 24 the lay swords pivoted at 25 and operated by shaft 21through the cranks 26 and links 27 a is the warp controlled in the usualmanner by the healds 28 and b is the weft fed at each side from a bobbin29 located on the floor or on any suitable support.

The shuttle 30 is cut away on the top and provided at each end with afork 31 (Figs.

2 to 6) secured thereto by means of a pin 32. The tines of the forks 32have an inclined top face 33 and a thread-engaging reoess 34, eserecesses being turned inwardly, 1. e. faclng each other, as shown inFig. 2.

At the entrance of each shuttle box 35 (Fig. 7) are thethread-presenting means'36, 37 for co-operating. with the shuttle as itis shot outwards, and the oscillating threadgripping hook 38 forco-operating with the no shuttle as it flies into the box. Thethread-presenting means comprise an The weft thread extending from theeye 36 on a rod 39, ahd a hook 37 secured to the rail on the lay 23(Figs. 8 to bin 29 to the selvedge 70 (Fig. 7) .passes through the e 'e36 and thence under the hook37 where y it is held across the path of theforks 310 the shuttle. Owing to the incline '33. at the p'of the forks,the thread I will slide over the front fork but it will be 1O caught andcarried away in loop form by the recess 34 in the rear fork on theshuttle being shot outwards. The rod 39 is pivoted to the frame at 41(Fig. 1 and actuated by the cam shaft 22 through t e link 42 and theroller 43 on thecam arm 44, the movement of the rod 39 being intended tolift the weft thread out of the path of the thread-engagin forks whenthe shuttle flies in.

%he oscillating hook 38 (Figs. 8 to 10) is mounted axially ofthe'shuttle on a shaft 45 mounted in bearings 76 on the rail 40. Totheshaft45 is secured an arm 46 connected to a rod 47 pivoted at 48(Fig. 1) to an oscillatin'g lever 49. This lever is pivoted at one endto the frame at 50 and it carries at its other end a roller 51 riding ona cam 52 secured to the-cam shaft 22. As shown in Figs. 12 to 18 thehook 38 is provided with a wedge-shaped tail piece 53 for thepurpose ofassisting the hook in picking up the weft thread from the fork 31 aswill be ex lained hereinafter.

11 its way from the bobbin 29 to the thread-presenting 'means 36, 37 theweft thread passes between the jaws 54, 55 of a brake actuated bythe-shuttle as it reaches the far end of the race in order to secure thedesired tensioning of the weft. To this end we utilize, in the exampleillustrated, the

shaft 56 of an automatic stop mechanism of current design, which ismounted in bearings 66 in the lay-swords 24. This shaft is held by thespring 57 in such position that a dog 58 on said shaft is adapted tostrike against an abutment 59 (Fig. 1) and stop the operation of the layswords when the shuttle fails to reach the shuttle-box. When the shuttleoperates normally, it moves the box swell 60 on entering the shuttle box(Figs. 8 to 10 and thus causes the lever 61 to rock the sha 56 and liftthe dog 58 out of the path of th .sto; 59, as is well known.

r the purposes of the'present invention the shaft 56 is extended at bothends under the shuttle boxes 35, and to each end of shaft 56 is securedan arm62 connected by links 63, 64 to a spindle 65 on which is securedthe brake jaw 55 (Figs. 10, 20, 21). The brake jaw 54 is stationary andsecured to a frame 67 secured to the lay by means of an arm and having eelets 68, 69 for guiding theweft thread 5. e brakes at both ends oftheshuttle race are actuated at the same time, but onl one is operative, i.e. the thread is tensioned by the right-hand brake when the shuttleenters and vice-versa.

When the loom is not provided with a stop I motion mechanism offthe:kind. described, a

rock shaft such as 56 can ..easily be 'fittedum der the lay and shuttleboxes. f

- The operation is as follows:

tion of Fig. 12. The hook being centrally.

positioned in the path of the forks 31, the

the left-hand box fork tines will pass on either side of it and thewedge-shaped tail piece 53 will engage beneath the portion of the thread6. extending across the two tinesof the rear fork 31 (Fig. 13). Theshuttle continuing itsmotion the thread is raisedby the tail 53 whichpicks it. off the fork and drops it into the rearwardly curved book 38(Fig. 14).

As the lay advances to beat up the weft the hook 38 swinging on itspivot 45 in the di* 'rection of the arrow (Fig. 15), carries the end ofthe loop to the selvedge (Fig. 16). The lay continuing toadvance, thehook 38 is then swung inthe opposite direction (Fig. 17) drops the endof the loop at the selvedge 70 and resumes its inoperative positionshown in Fig. 18. In order successively to imipart to thethread-gripping book 38 two di erent oscillating movements the cam 52(Fig. '19) has two cam portions 72, 73 for controlling the operation ofthe hook and holding it in its position of rest.

Meanwhile, as the shuttlereachos the end of its travel and enters theshuttle box it moves the box swell 60 about its pivot 74 (Fig. 8) andthrough the medium of the arm 61 it'causes the abutment shaft 56 to turnslightly in the direction of the arrow (Fig. 10). By means of the arm 62and links 63,

64, this movement is transmitted to the spindle 65 which moves the brakejaw 55 towards the jaw 54 and grips the thread 5. While, as statedbefore, the shaft 56 actuates at the same time the brakes of the twoshuttle boxes, in the position illustrated in Figs. 8 to 10 (with theshuttle within the left-hand box) it is obviousl the'operation of therighthand box brake t at MS under tension the loop just transferred mmthe shuttle to the left-hand hook 38. By thus placing the operation ofthe brake under the control of the shuttle itself, we are able to timeexactly the tensioning of the weft and avoid any undue stretching andbreakage of the loop.

When the shuttleis shot out of the box 35 the box swell 60 and shaft 56resume their initial positions under the action of the spring 57 and thereleased brakes permit the free passage of the thread. The braking ac-It is obvious that changes may be made in the arrangement of thethread-enga ing means on the shuttle and in the shape 0 theco-op'erating means on the lay without de- 3 parting from the scope ofthe appended claims.

1 We claim:

1. In a loom, the combination of a lay, a

weft supply, a shuttle on said lay, a forkshaped thread-carrier on saidshuttle having its tines in a plane extending transversely of theshuttle, thread-presenting means on said lay, a downwardly extendingthread-gril ping member on said lay for picking up weft thread from'saidthread-carrier, and means for causing said thread-gripping meimber todrop the weft thread at the selve ge. a

2. In a loom, the combination of a lay, a weft supply, a shuttle on saidlay, threadenga ging means on said shuttle, means for presenting theweft thread to said threadengaging means, and an oscillating member onthe lay for picking up the weft from said thread-engaging means anddropping it in loop form at the selvedge.

3. In a loom, the combination of a lay, a weft supply, a shuttle on saidlay, a threadengaging fork on said shuttle, means for presenting theweft thread across said fork, and a thread-gripping hook pivotallyarranged on the lay centrally of the path of said fork and adapted topick up the thread therefrom.

4. In a loom, the combination of'a lay, a weft supply. at each end ofsaid lay, shuttle boxes and a shuttle on said lay, a threadcarrler onsaid shuttle, means at the entrance of each shuttle box respectively forpresentmg the thread to said thread-carrier on the shuttle flying outand for picking up the thread from said thread-earner on the shuttleflying in, means for controlling the operation of said thread-presentingand of said thread-picking up means, means for tensiomng the thread fromeach weft supply, and means controlled by said shuttlefor operating saidtensioning means.

5. In a loom, the combination of a lay, a

shuttle on said lay, a pair of u standing forks secured each to one endof said shuttle, the tines of said forks having an outwardly sloping topface and an inwardly turned thread-engaging recess, and thread-grippingmeans on said lay adapted to co-operate with said forks.

. 6. In a loom, the combination of a la ,a shuttle on said lay, athread-engaging ork on said shuttle, a thread gripping hook pivoted tosaid lay and located centrally of the path of said fork, and means forrocking said hook.

7. In a 100m, the combination of a lay, a shuttle on said lay, athread-engaging fork on said shuttle, a thread gripping member pivotedto said lay and located centrally of the path of said fork, said memberc0mpris-' ing a hook and a wedge-shaped tail piece adapted to passbetween the tines of said fork, and cam-controlled means for alternatelyswinging said member through different angles.

8. In a loom, the combination of a lay, a weft supply, a shuttle on saidlay, a threadcarrier on said shuttle, means for presenting the weftthread to said thread carrier, means on said lay for picking up thethread from said thread-carrier, and means between said weft supply andsaid thread-presentmg means for braking the weft thread.

9. In a loom, the combination of a lay, a weft supply, a shuttle on saidlay, a threadcarrier on said shuttle, means for presenting the weftthread to said thread-carrier, means for removing the thread from saidthreadcarrier, and means controlled by said shuttle for braking the weftthread.

10. In a loom, the combination of a lay, a weft supply, shuttle boxesand a shuttle on said lay, a rock shaft extending below said lay andshuttle boxes, means in each shuttle box for controlling the motion ofsaid shaft, said means being controlled by said shuttle,

a thread-carrier on said shuttle, thread-presenting and thread-grippingmeans on said lay for 'co;operating with said thread-carrier, andthread-braking means controlled by said shaft.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures.

ALVARO MULLOR. LOUIS CARRIOL.

